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      Awareness Level About Lead Poisoning Among the Saudi Population in Arar City, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

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          Abstract

          Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the awareness regarding lead poisoning among the Saudi population of Arar, Saudi Arabia.

          Methods: A cross-sectional, online self-administered questionnaire-based method was utilized for data collection through convenience sampling from Arar, Saudi Arabia. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

          Results: The study included 389 participants, with a majority (302 participants (77.6%)) of females with a mean age of 31.7 years (range 18-54 years). The source of information about lead poisoning was reported as the media in 264 participants (67.8%). The participants (197, 50.6%) reported children as the age group most at risk for lead poisoning. All suggested sources of exposure to lead were identified by 190 participants (48.9%). As for the most common effect of lead poisoning, mental impairment was reported by 101 participants (26%), while 107 (27.6%) participants reported nerve problems. Kidney problems were reported by 181 participants (46.4%). Gender significantly (P = 0.001) affects the participants' knowledge about the sources of lead poisoning, while knowledge about the routes of poisoning was significantly affected by the participants’ age (P = 0.010).

          Conclusion: In Saudi Arabia, there is limited knowledge of risk factors, route of poisoning, and management and prevention of lead poisoning. A comprehensive lead-poisoning prevention strategy must include a high level of public knowledge of lead hazards as a key component.

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          Most cited references18

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          Lead toxicity: a review

          Ab Latif Wani, Anjum Ara, Jawed Ahmad Usmani (2015)
          Lead toxicity is an important environmental disease and its effects on the human body are devastating. There is almost no function in the human body which is not affected by lead toxicity. Though in countries like US and Canada the use of lead has been controlled up to a certain extent, it is still used vehemently in the developing countries. This is primarily because lead bears unique physical and chemical properties that make it suitable for a large number of applications for which humans have exploited its benefits from historical times and thus it has become a common environmental pollutant. Lead is highly persistent in the environment and because of its continuous use its levels rise in almost every country, posing serious threats. This article reviews the works listed in the literature with recent updates regarding the toxicity of lead. Focus is also on toxic effects of lead on the renal, reproductive and nervous system. Finally the techniques available for treating lead toxicity are presented with some recent updates.
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            Lead toxicity, a review of the literature. Part 1: Exposure, evaluation, and treatment.

            Lyn Patrick (2006)
            The phasing out of leaded gasoline for transportation vehicles between 1973 and 1995 and the removal of lead from paint by federal mandate by 1978 have resulted in substantial lowering of mean blood lead levels in all segments of the U.S. population. However, because lead is a persistent metal, it is still present in the environment - in water, brass plumbing fixtures, soil, dust, and imported products manufactured with lead. Diagnosis of lead toxicity has traditionally been based on significantly elevated blood lead levels. However, data now implicates low-level exposures and blood lead levels previously considered normal as causative factors in cognitive dysfunction, neurobehavioral disorders, neurological damage, hypertension, and renal impairment. Chelation is the conventional recommendation in the case of blood levels associated with acute toxicity and encephalopathic damage. Issues surrounding the assessment of body lead burden and the consequences of low-level environmental exposure are critical in the treatment of chronic disease related to lead toxicity.
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              Environmental lead and children's intelligence: a systematic review of the epidemiological evidence.

              Ryan Smith, Nicola S. Pocock, P A Baghurst (1994)
              To quantify the magnitude of the relation between full scale IQ in children aged 5 or more and their body burden of lead. A systematic review of 26 epidemiological studies since 1979: prospective studies of birth cohorts, cross sectional studies of blood lead, and cross sectional studies of tooth lead. General populations of children > or = 5 years. For each study, the regression coefficient of IQ on lead, after adjustment for confounders when possible, was used to derive the estimated change in IQ for a specific doubling of either blood or tooth lead. The five prospective studies with over 1100 children showed no association of cord blood lead or antenatal maternal blood lead with subsequent IQ. Blood lead at around age 2 had a small and significant inverse association with IQ, somewhat greater than that for mean blood lead over the preschool years. The 14 cross sectional studies of blood lead with 3499 children showed a significant inverse association overall, but showed more variation in their results and their ability to allow for confounders. The seven cross sectional studies of tooth lead with 2095 children were more consistent in finding an inverse association, although the estimated magnitude was somewhat smaller. Overall synthesis of this evidence, including a meta-analysis, indicates that a typical doubling of body lead burden (from 10 to 20 micrograms/dl (0.48 to 0.97 mumol/l) blood lead or from 5 to 10 micrograms/g tooth lead) is associated with a mean deficit in full scale IQ of around 1-2 IQ points. While low level lead exposure may cause a small IQ deficit, other explanations need considering: are the published studies representative; is there inadequate allowance for confounders; are there selection biases in recruiting and following children; and do children of lower IQ adopt behaviour which makes them more prone to lead uptake (reverse causality)? Even if moderate increases in body lead burden adversely affect IQ, a threshold below which there is negligible influence cannot currently be determined. Because of these uncertainties, the degree of public health priority that should be devoted to detecting and reducing moderate increases in children's blood lead, compared with other important social detriments that impede children's development, needs careful consideration.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Cureus
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Cureus
                Journal ID (issn): 2168-8184
                Title: Cureus
                Publisher: Cureus (Palo Alto (CA) )
                ISSN (Electronic): 2168-8184
                Publication date (Electronic, pub): 10 June 2024
                Publication date (Electronic, collection): June 2024
                Volume: 16
                Issue: 6
                Electronic Location Identifier: e62112
                Affiliations
                [1 ] Pathology, Northern Border University, Arar, SAU
                [2 ] College of Medicine, Northern Border University, Arar, SAU
                Author notes
                Article
                DOI: 10.7759/cureus.62112
                PMC ID: 11238659
                PubMed ID: 38993418
                SO-VID: d04be8af-7a0d-44fb-b45c-7ebe7543a5c3
                Copyright © Copyright © 2024, Elmorsy et al.
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0., which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                Date accepted : 10 June 2024
                Categories
                Subject: Family/General Practice
                Subject: Public Health
                Subject: Epidemiology/Public Health

                Keywords: lead toxicity,neurodevelopmental disorders,awareness,lead,heavy metal toxicology
                Data availability:
                Keywords: lead toxicity, neurodevelopmental disorders, awareness, lead, heavy metal toxicology

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